New Movies and TV: 'Our Brand Is Crisis,' 'Room' and three questions with Alanna Masterson

October 20, 2015

From new series to memorable guest stars and the film releases that will have you racing to the theatre,
Hello! Canada’s weekly report on buzz-worthy movies and TV shows is your all-access guide to the big and small screen.

This week,
Sandra Bullock isn’t messing around as a campaign specialist in the political drama Our Brand is Crisis while rising star Brie Larson delivers one of the year’s most emotional performances in Room.

On the small screen, The
Walking Dead star Alanna Masterson tells Hello! what is next for her character in the face of the zombie apocalypse, plus her excitement over becoming a first-time mother. Also, the women that keep their NHL hunnies in check shoot for another winning series of Hockey Wives.

Don’t forget to check back on Mondays to stay up to date on must-see TV and noteworthy silver-screen news!

MOVIES

OUR BRAND IS CRISIS

Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock sheds her sunny personality to play a ruthless political strategist in
Our Brand is Crisis (in theatres Oct. 30). The fictional film, which made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, examines the use of American advertising tactics to influence the Bolivian election in 2002. The lead role was originally written for a man but Sandra called up her good friend George Clooney, who also served as the film’s producer, to stake her claim on the part. George even credits the mother of one for saving the film. During a press conference in Toronto the handsome actor admitted that the stalled production was reinvigorated “the minute [Sandra] called and said she wanted to play the role that had been written for a man.”

IN THEATRES NOW

ROOM

Brie Larson’s brilliant performance in Room has Hollywood tongues wagging and ignited a wave of Oscar buzz. The film, based on the chilling novel by author Emma Donoghue, tells the story of a mother and son’s brave battle to free themselves from captivity and their fight to adapt to a new world. Speaking with A.V. Club, the 26-year-old leading lady shared her interpretation of the film and insisted that to her, it was more lovely than harrowing. “You can watch the movie and focus on the kidnapping and the crime story,” she says, or, “you can see it as a story of love and freedom and perseverance and what it feels like to grow up and become your own person. That’s more of what I see in it.”

TV

“Family is really awesome.
Only good things happen when you have kids so I’m really excited about it,” says mom-to-be Alanna Masterson, with whom Hello! caught up shortly after The Walking Dead’s massive season six premiere on Oct. 18. The new arrival, Alanna’s first child with photographer Brick Stowell, will be a welcome addition to the famous Masterson family, which includes actors Danny (who will soon reunite with his That ‘70s Show co-star Ashton Kutcher for the Netflix drama The Ranch), Christopher and Jordan. Here, the 27-year-old beauty dishes on what’s in store for her character Tara, why Andrew Lincoln is nothing like Rick Grimes and how The Walking Dead cast supports each other through all the zombie madness.

What can fans expect to see with Tara’s story this season?
Oh man. There are so many things I can’t say! I think this season they’re in a place that they feel is a home and I think that Tara is going to try and make that home hers and really contribute to the group in Alexandria. She’s light-hearted and she really tries to make the best of everything and I think she’s going to help people in that way. Just by reminding them that they are still alive and that they are still breathing and that’s the most important thing. Just to keep fighting and to not give up.

Which actor in the cast would you say is least like their character on the show?
Probably Rick – because Andy [Andrew Lincoln] is literally the nicest person you’ve ever met in your entire life. He’s just truly and genuinely a good egg. So when he’s so vicious on screen, that’s not like him at all. He’s the best.

With such heavy material how do you shake off all that emotion when the cameras stop rolling?
Sometimes it’s hard to switch off but we’re all really good to each other and we’re checking in and we go out for dinner and see movies. It’s nice because if we were shooting the show in California or wherever people live, it would be a totally different environment because at the end of the day we’d all go home to our families, but out here in Georgia you’re pretty secluded. You only really have your cast mates to lean on. We kind of get each other out of the funk.

With the arrival of a new NHL season comes another round of the hit documentary series
Hockey Wives (season two premieres Oct. 28, W Network). Some new faces, including singer Keshia Chanté and Angela Price, join returning wives Noureen DeWulf, Martine Forget and newly engaged Maripier Morin, for more off-the-ice action.